


Red as Blood, Pink as Passion

by teamchaosprez



Category: Yandere Simulator (Video Game)
Genre: 1800s, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Blood, Child Neglect, F/F, Isolation, Kidnapping, Murder, Stockholm Syndrome, Vampires, i like to think there's a little bit of genuity, sort of?????
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-31
Updated: 2016-12-10
Packaged: 2018-07-28 11:46:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7638976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teamchaosprez/pseuds/teamchaosprez
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Attempting to solve a murder case on her own for the sake of the newspaper was probably a bad idea, considering what it led to. But perhaps there's a silver lining in the outcome.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> FIRST ATTEMPT AT WRITING A YANDERE SIMULATOR FIC oh gosh i hope this is good. i've been looking forward to starting this for a while.

Reporters were meant to be nosy, to get the information for their investigation regardless of who they had to step over or what boundaries they had to cross. Info, as she was known to most, was no exception to this… but most of the time, she did her investigations through quiet spying, stalking and watching the story unfold or hiring other people to go out and do it. It was the late 1800s after all, and women were not meant to be out doing such work - but she was the best at what she did, so the newspaper she worked for allowed her to continue using her methods of getting information. It worked well enough, as she knew pretty much everything that went on in the city thanks to her endless interlocking webs of connections and her excessive diligence and inability to rest until she got the truth.

That commitment to knowing everything, of course, was going to be Info’s downfall. One of these days she was going to get so wrapped up in her investigative journalism that the strings she was following would rise from the ground and ensnare her, bringing her down in a bloody heap and allowing the spiders of fate to eat her alive. That was what her father often told her, anyway, but she was fairly convinced that he wanted her to settle down, give him grandchildren and become a polite and demure little housewife instead of growing up to be an old maid that he would be ashamed of calling a daughter. She didn’t care. He had barely even had a part in raising her; her mother had died giving birth to her, and her father had always seemed disinterested, leaving a wet-nurse to raise her… and, of course, by the age of ten she was entirely taking care of herself.

That was not relevant at the moment, though, and she wasn’t entirely sure why she was thinking on it. She was investigating a series of seemingly related murders that had been taking the city by storm since the beginning of April; the victims were mostly women in their late teens and early twenties (around her age, which was why those who knew her identity worried for her when she was out investigating), found dead usually in either sewers or alleyways with their throats cut and blood drained from their body. There was a disturbing lack of evidence at the scenes of the crimes, and no eyewitness accounts or signs of a struggle - it was like the women had been incapacitated or immediately knocked out when attacked. The only things linking these girls together, it seemed, were the causes of their deaths and the complete mystery surrounding them.

Of course, Info had read between the lines, asking the loved ones of the murdered women about what they had been doing either. Most of them had been out for strolls with a trusted male friend, Taro Yamada, before they disappeared and showed up dead a few hours later. At first glance, of course, Taro seemed to be a perfectly nice young man, friendly and respectful towards all he met, all smiles and friendly faces. He had been questioned a few times by the police as the last person to have seen the women alive, but he always claimed to have escorted his female friends home, leaving them at the walkways of their houses before heading home. His parents, who he still lived with as their only living son to care for them in their old age, seemed to support this alibi; he was always home on time, entering the house less than half an hour after returning home and greeting his mother and father before getting ready for bed. Never once had they noticed a change in clothes or demeanor, or anything mysterious.

Despite the fact that most believed him innocent, Info genuinely believed that she had found the culprit. That nice boy disguise couldn’t fool her, she thought to herself every time she had a conversation in an attempt to link him to the crimes as the perpetrator; she had a cold blooded killer on her hands that dared to speak with his parents after committing unspeakable acts.

Some things, of course, just didn’t add up. Taro seemed genuinely shaken by the deaths of these girls close to him, and had even been staying indoors since the last victim - a young prostitute named Kokona Haruka that Taro had been making an effort to help off the streets - was murdered a week ago. That didn’t quite add up with most murderers that she had interviewed in her time as a reporter; most of them acted indifferent about the suffering they had inflicted, and a couple had even made an attempt to attack her because she was alone. This man seemed genuinely upset and very respectful in his demeanor. And, of course, there was the fact that he had no medical education and there was no conceivable way he would have been able to drain all the blood from a victim’s body.

Info was becoming frustrated with her inability to get the case to budge and her complete inability to move her investigations further, but she refused to allow herself to give up hope. In a last ditch effort to get something done, she had decided to stalk Taro the next time he went out for a walk. Catch him in the act. Write down an extensive eyewitness account to show the police so that she could get her story out and get this criminal arrested.

She wasn’t afraid. In fact, she was quite confident, despite knowing full well that walking herself straight into a guaranteed murder scene would be considered suicide in the eyes of many. Cockiness had a bad habit of completely blinding her to the point she could see no wrong in her plans, but this was the first time that she was actually putting her life at risk for a hunch.

Perhaps she should have been more afraid, but fear was a concept that completely escaped her as she sat to the side of a tall building just past seven o’clock in the evening. It was the beginning of April, and the weather had not yet developed past being cold and miserable, so Info was wearing a heavy coat that she put effort into making inconspicuous - she’d even borrowed it from her father and tucked her hair back in an attempt to make herself look like a man despite her short and thin stature. Perhaps if she didn’t look like a woman, the murderer would leave her be.

Following him was rather boring at first. Nothing happened that was out of the ordinary for a young man escorting a female friend from her factory job to her house. Osana Najimi was her name, and in Info’s opinion, she seemed rather bratty and rude, spitting out insults without much care and griping about everything. Not the sort of person one would expect such a polite boy as Taro to hang around. Still, he seemed to enjoy her company, and she seemed to enjoy his. At some point, it crossed the reporter’s mind that these two would make a nice couple at some point in the future.

Taro escorted Osana to the door of a small group home, and gave her a polite smile as he opened the gate for her. She seemed to smile at him, and gently squeezed his hand; he leaned forward, and she stood on the tips of her toes in order to give him a light kiss on the lips. Info was disappointed that she had not caught him in the act of a murder, but just as she was planning the next move she would make to catch the perpetrator, a howl as if someone was in pain rang through the air. Startled the reporter tensed and hid further in the alley where she was standing, watching with wide eyes as a dark figure sprinted toward the young couple with inhuman speed.

The boy tried to shove the girl toward the house, yelling for her to get inside, but before she could she was tackled to the ground by the dark figure. Info winced at imagining how much that must have hurt, but before she could think to get up and do something, the figure had thrown off the hood of her cloak to reveal long dark hair and a pale female face that Info couldn’t get a good look at. A knife was pulled from the pocket and dragged across Osana’s throat; sick fascination forced the reporter to watch as the figure brought the wound of the struggling girl to its lips and began drinking the blood that poured out as if from a waterfall. Within moments, Osana stopped struggling and laid limp in the creature’s arms, and within moments of her movement halting so did her breathing. She was dead. The murderer had another victim, and that murderer sure as hell wasn’t Taro Yamada.

Speaking of the boy she’d been tracking, he seemed to be in shock, slowly backing away from the horrific scene he had just witnessed and looking around as if he was a caged animal. Info mentally urged him to turn around and start running - eventually, he did, but he didn’t get very far before the creature finished sucking the blood from Osana Najimi’s corpse and turned quickly to face him. It sprinted forward with its inhuman speed again, grabbing his wrist and saying something to him. The reporter wished she could hear, but she was too far away.

Whatever it said, Taro refused. He shook his head quickly, and the creature must not have liked that very much, because it seemed to plead with him despite his refusal. After some time, it jabbed its knife in his throat, but instead of sucking his blood right away, it just… held him, slowly sank to the ground with the boy in its arms and held him as she held his throat in an attempt to stop the bleeding and slowly lost his breath, suffocating and bleeding out in the arms of the creature who had murdered him.

The creature seemed to mourn. It continued holding his body delicately, gently smoothing the hair from his face and leaving a small kiss on his forehead. It didn’t drink his blood, instead raising the knife so that the blade faced its chest, appearing as if it was about to stab itself - Info couldn’t help but wonder why nobody in the group home had heard the debacle going on, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. She needed to get out of there, to turn and run and never look back, get as far away from the scene of the crime as she could and report it to the police so she could write up the story of the century.

However, it must have heard her. Before Info could get very far, she heard hurried footsteps behind her, and despite her best efforts to move a little more quickly, she found herself nearly barreling into the creature that had just murdered two people, one of them in cold blood and the other seemingly for no reason. The reporter did not like fear, but it was what caused her heart rate to pick up significantly and her eyes to dart around the alley, looking for a way to run that might help her escape. She took a couple of steps back, but tripped on a misplaced stone and was forced to look up.

The creature looked like a woman. Her face was pale and oddly calm for the crimson blood dripping down her chin. She had very attractive features, long straight hair blowing slightly in the April breeze and a condescending look aimed at the fallen writer. She kneeled down to face the reporter, taking her chin in a surprisingly strong hand and forcing her to look her in the eyes. They were black as the night, interrupted by a single odd ring of distinct bright pink around the pupils.

This  _ thing _ was beautiful.

“Your eyes,” the creature spoke simply, her voice apathetic. “They’re as red as blood. I’ve never seen such a color on a human.”

Info would have liked to respond, but her voice didn’t seem to be working. She was afraid for her life, and shocked after the murders she had just witnessed. The creature lifted her calmly, tucking her into her arms as if she were a princess before sprinting through the city with the same inhuman speed it had used to approach Taro and Osana and to chase her down.

It took until they were entering the country for the reporter to realize she was being kidnapped.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ayano brings Info to her home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my spare keyboard is malfunctioning and my life is falling apart

The house loomed over her like a dark and gaping prison. It was nestled neatly in the mountains in the middle of a forest, hidden from the eyes of those who didn’t know where to look for it. Ayano didn’t know how long the home had been in her family, nor did she care, as long as the humans of the nearby city didn’t storm it with pitchforks and flaming torches. Heaven knows a riot would ensue if anybody found out that a small coven of vampires - if it could even be called that, there were only three members; herself, her mother, and her father - were living so close to where they lived and worked.

The human in her arms seemed rather intimidated, and Ayano supposed that if she was a measly mortal staring up at the dark and dreary place that would be her home she would be awfully afraid too. She had been fascinated with Taro - obsessed, even - but his blood had smelled vile, cowardly. He had been attractive, yes, and she lusted over him - more than that, she loved him. Her mother had encouraged her to chase after him, to bring him back and make him a new addition to their coven and their family so that the Aishi name could live on.

But this girl… she  _ smelled _ wonderful, and her appearance was attractive as well. She didn’t like that she was beginning to feel this way about a reporter, but she supposed she could disguise it for now as a longing to keep her secret safe. If she were to let this human go, after all, it would be all over the news that a terrifying and bloodthirsty monster was attacking people across town. Her mother had almost been caught while stalking and determinedly trying to seduce her father, and that had very nearly ended very poorly - they couldn’t afford for someone to know where they were hidden, lest they need to pack up their things and make a run for it, away from the home that had been theirs for hundreds of years. She wouldn’t let that happen. She  _ couldn’t _ let that happen.

It was a little bit of both, perhaps.

Of course, there were concerns that the vampire had as she carried the human up the stairs to the home and waited for the massive door to open upon seeing her - they had worked with some craggly old magic casters to make the house recognize any member of the Aishi family on sight, and as creepy as it felt sometimes to have the walls watching her and doors swing open just by her passing them, it was comforting in some strange way - and she didn’t get frightened anymore, either, hadn’t since she was perhaps two years old and her mother had ignored her cries when she was scared of the house.

She had trouble with that in general, actually. Emotion. All she really felt were attraction, obsession, anger, loss, and all of those only under very special and very specific circumstances. Ayano supposed all of that, or at least most of it, could be blamed on her mother’s ignoring her and her father being afraid that she would turn out just like said mother, and perhaps some on genetics because her mother certainly didn’t seem to care for anything or anyone but her father.

Ayano had never learned how to experience her emotions or deal with them in a healthy and productive manner, and because of that, most of her life she had been ignoring them. Sometimes she forgot a time when she would cry because she was sad or frightened, or laugh ecstatically when she was happy or amused. She told herself that she could not feel anything, that she never could and that it was just a simple manner of the way she had been born.

But the way she felt about Taro had changed all of that. She had met him one day when he offered to help her cross the street, and she was so smitten by the fact that somebody had shown her  _ kindness _ despite her marble like pale skin and the fact that she seemed a little odd to almost all of the general human population. She never noticed that he clearly didn’t have eyes for her - and that could be worked around, anyway, most men of her family were kidnapped and/or forced into marriage by the women - or that his blood smelled of cowardice and perhaps lies. Not until she had murdered him.

She mourned his death, certainly. She had stalked him for months on end, she had stolen his things and killed any of the girls that dared so much as talked to him. But above that, she mourned the time she had lost, wasted on following Taro Yamada and never realizing that he could never be hers. Mourning the fact that she had overfed and risked the exposure of her family over a boy she could not, could never have and was now dead. She had been foolish for several months, but at least she had the only witness to her crimes as a prisoner, right?

This reporter smelled far better than Taro ever had, anyway. Her blood smelled of determination, independence, and perhaps a little bit of mischief. She was beautiful as well, with her dark hair strangely cut to her shoulders and pulled back and eyes wide and curious, the color of blood and just jaded enough to suggest that she was intelligent and experienced rather than naive.

And there was no doubting the haze of pink that settled over Ayano’s vision now that she was holding the human and carrying her. She had experienced that the two times she had gotten close enough to Taro, and by the words of her mother had grown to assume that it meant she was in love. While most of the time the vampire would scoff at the idea of romance, let alone so quickly and with another woman, she couldn’t deny the facts; this human had put her in danger and had only been kidnapped and taken to the house out of necessity, but she was already laying her claims on Ayano’s heart.

The immortal wasn’t sure if she liked that. She wasn’t sure if she had a choice, either. She settled for figuring everything out later and carrying the human up to what would be her bedroom for now, walking through the halls to a long and winding staircase that may seem intimidating to anybody whose muscles burned after extensive exercise. Luckily, immortality brought with it an inability to become excessively fatigued even after the most grueling exercise, even if she did not necessarily have the strength to perform the task she was aiming for.

The stairs were that way partially for aesthetic and partially to ensure that no human prisoner would be able to make a run for it, whether it be up or down them, and realistically make it without running out of breath and strength. Though they didn’t actually hold the humans they captured prisoner - no, they were murdered on the streets and usually either burned or left for the police to find - it was handy when a spouse was required and needed to be either conditioned to fall in love with the heiress of the coven or convinced to marry her. Once, Ayano had thought that system was wrong and didn’t fully agree with it, mostly because her father had told her so - but her mother had made sure that she knew that there was simply no other way to go about things but tradition. Why would one trust some random man to hold the secret of some vampires in the woods if he were to leave without permission, after all? The entire family could be burned at the stake, imprisoned and prevented from carrying on the family line, or something equally horrible.

Now, she agreed with the system, but internally she questioned if it still applied when it was a  _ woman _ who she was bringing into the Aishi family. Speaking of the woman, the human shifted slightly in her arms and gave her a frown, and Ayano nearly stalled upon looking down at her but continued walking nonetheless. The pink haze over her vision seemed to grow thicker and stronger, and her heart fluttered slightly in her chest. Fuck. This wasn’t good at all, and she wasn’t entirely sure how to deal with it, so she simply ignored it and kept moving forward.

“Who are you, and where are you taking me?” the reporter asked with her eyes narrowed into a glare. Ah, so she was angry - Ayano supposed she couldn’t blame her. If  _ she _ was nabbed off the street by somebody who had just murdered two other vampires right before her eyes, she supposed she would be a little disgruntled. She wondered if this woman was afraid at all; she had no reason to be, but she probably didn’t know that. At least she didn’t seem to be  _ acting _ afraid, more annoyed and angered than anything else - that was a start for now, but if she was lying the vampire wasn’t happy.

“I am Ayano Aishi, heiress to the Aishi name and the coven of vampires in these woods. I am taking you up to your bedroom. You’ve seen too much; this is your home now.” she spoke in a deadpan as she  _ finally _ reached the top floor of the mansion, proceeding then to walk down the long hallway. She realized for the first time in her entire life of living in this house that the distance and time it took to walk from point A to point B was perhaps a little - or a lot - ridiculous and overdone.

“I wasn’t even aware that there was a coven of vampires in existence, let alone near where I live.” the human murmured to herself before feeling around in her pockets for something, gritting her teeth when she apparently realized that she didn’t have it with her. “Ugh, I think my notepad was left behind when you grabbed me. How am I supposed to write the story of the century if I don’t have the means to do it?” she sighed heavily and leaned her head back against Ayano, who blushed at the contact, much to her chagrin. Ugh. She might have to kill her just to get rid of these emotions.

“That’s much of the reason I brought you here. I cannot allow you to expose my family or our location. You’re going to be here for the rest of your pathetic mortal life,” the vampire responded, showing off her sharp fangs in a grin that seemed to make the reporter shudder. Good. She wanted to be feared - that was probably the only way she would be listened to, after all, given how stubbornly reporters were known to chase knowledge and spread it. “Why do you even want people to know about us? We’ve been here for centuries, and aside from the occasional death caused by the vampires of the family we have posed no danger to you or any other human in your city. It would not cause you horrible damage to let us remain here in peace and pursue some other big story that would gain you lots of attention and headlines. It doesn’t have to be about vampires to be the story of the century - and that aside, even if I did let you write your little article, I doubt anybody would even believe you.”

The human opened her mouth as if to argue, but sighed heavily and dropped the argument as Ayano reached the door she had been aiming for and opened it, gently setting her on her feet and shoving her into the spacy room. Hopefully she would take kindly to being left to her own devices for the moment - if not, Ayano supposed it didn’t matter, because it wasn’t like she was going to be able to do anything else without the vampire’s explicit permission. “What is your name, by the way? I suppose it’s rather rude of me to not know, since you’re living under my roof and you’ll be using my resources.”

“Most call me Info. And I can assure you that I won’t be here long - my employer is rather dependent on me to keep his newspaper going and he’ll be worried about me if no one else. Somebody will find this place and find me in it.”

“Clearly, you’re unfamiliar with the abilities of vampires, Info. I can promise you right now that nobody is going to find you, and if they come near, then they’ll never be seen again.” And with that, Ayano closed the bedroom door and turned on her heel, beginning to make her way back down to the stairs. A small smirk appeared on her face - perhaps the dramatics were a little unnecessary, but they had gotten her point across, and now she didn’t need to worry about the pesky human until it came time to bring her food - and that wasn’t for a little while, so the vampire had plenty of time to sort through her thoughts before facing anything again. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Info considers escaping.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY NOT DEAD

Info had been pacing so long that she could swear that a groove was being worn into the ebony wood of the floor. Her eyes were trained on her feet, occasionally glancing outside at the tall, dark trees growing all around the house and blocking out the mid afternoon sunlight, and the only thing that crossed her mind was how the fuck she could manage to escape. The staircase and hallway were both unnecessarily long, so she certainly couldn’t sprint down that way without getting caught, but that would also make it difficult for the vampires to escape in case of a fire or something of the sort; there had to be an easier way out somewhere, an emergency route. She just needed to be intelligent and think of where it most likely would be. That should come easily enough to her; intelligence and thinking were part of her job, and even beforehand had been her forte.

She just needed to relax her racing mind enough to think coherently. That would be a bit harder; she’d been kidnapped by a damn vampire, after all. An undead monster infamous for sucking the blood out of all humans possible. Every time she heard anything outside the thin door of her room, she would jump and become defensive, even if it sounded no bigger than a mouse.

Part of her was certain that she was going to die in this castle, all the blood in her body sucked out by the hauntingly beautiful vampire that had kidnapped her. She could imagine her curtain of dark hair obstructing Info’s head from view as deadly sharp teeth pierced the pale and unblemished skin at the side of her neck, imagined the feeling of blood being drained from where her pulse could be felt. It was a terrifying thought, but what terrified her more was the feeling of acceptance and… maybe anticipation? She supposed dying here, like that, wasn’t so bad compared to what might await her in the society she had been snatched from.

The window in her room was small, but it did the job. The glass couldn’t be opened, possibly to dissuade anybody from trying to run away, so she supposed that if not for the shade it would be swelteringly hot inside. She could only assume that she was pretty deep into the lush forest, considering Ayano had run at full speed to get her here and even then it had taken quite a bit. If she were to break the glass and cry out for help, nobody would hear her, and she may get in trouble with the vampire for trying to get away and potentially report on the horrific murder she’d witnessed.

Not that the thought wasn’t crossing her mind. As terrifying and shock inducing as it had been at first, she had very little regard for the lives of others; she would gladly publish a story about the deaths of Osana Najimi and Taro Yamada for the town she lived in to see. Unless promising secrecy was enough to get her out and get her free, in which case she would gladly kick her reporter’s instinct to the curb and happily go the rest of her life without saying a word about the vampire’s mansion in the woods.

With a defeated sigh, the reporter laid down on the soft bed against the wall - she wasn’t entirely sure why she was supplied with such a quality place to sleep, considering she was a prisoner in this house and could very well ruin the cover and send an angry mob of townspeople after Ayano Aishi.

Oh. That’s right. Ayano had mentioned that her family lived in the expansive space too.

How many vampires were present in this building? Did they have superb scent like in the many novels she’d poured over in her life - could they smell her blood?

Did they  _ want _ her blood?

She shuttered at the thought and frowned, getting back to her feet and pacing the floor once more as she struggled to think of a way to get out. She needed to escape, and she needed to survive - these weren’t even options at this point, they were requirements. Info wanted to spread knowledge and awareness to the world, and she wanted to prove herself, but she couldn’t exactly do that if she was busy getting the blood drained from her body.

Perhaps she could analyze the timing in the house, figure out how getting meals would occur and formulate a plan for her own escape based on that. If Ayano slipped up even a little bit, Info would notice and exploit that. Maybe she would leave the door open or turn her back for just a little bit longer than was necessary. Maybe she would forget to lock the door when she left.

If there was even the slightest error, she would spot it, and she would use it.

* * *

 

Red light flooded into the spacious bedroom through the small window upon the wall, tall shadows cast as if they were men come to laugh at her for being such a foolish girl. Being in this luxurious prison for so long was enough to drive Info slightly batty, and she had long abandoned pacing in favor of leaning against the cool stone of the wall, her skin dropping in temperature as she stared out at the tall trees reaching upwards. Did they know how lucky they were to be out rooted in place instead of trapped, mobile but unable to do anything?

It was evening and Info was absolutely starving. She had lost the ability to think and plan coherently to the all consuming pain and growling sourcing from her stomach, and when the door opened and the vampire entered holding a hot bowl of broth and a small loaf of bread, it took all of the reporter’s self control to not immediately jump her and demand to be fed. She hadn’t eaten since a small sandwich the previous day, and even that was the only thing she’d eaten in about forty eight hours… and panic could only keep its hold on her for so long.

The vampire did not lock the door behind her, but instead gestured for her captive to sit on the floor. Info cooperated without hesitation, and Ayano followed suit, lowering herself to the ground just across from her before sliding the soup and bread over. The reporter did her best to work carefully and politely, dipping the bread in the soup and slowly consuming her dinner. Her captor seemed to watch her with a small amount of interest, but the silence did not last long, the undead woman (was she even undead, or was that just an assumption made by writers of fiction? as desperate as Info was to escape, she did want to learn more) speaking up after a moment.

“I’m sure there are many questions that you have for me,” she spoke in a deadpan voice, and Info very nearly wanted to squirm underneath the steady and stoic gaze that pitch black eyes laid upon her. “There will not be very many opportunities for you to state your inquiries, so I suggest that you get any out right now, before I change my mind. You’re a woman of knowledge, right?”

The reporter nodded slightly, unable to really believe her luck. Not only had the vampire left the door unlocked, she was also allowed to ask questions? Ayano would probably easily be able to overpower her if she were to make a run for it right at the moment, so she would have to try and distract her just as she was leaving. “Are you ever going to let me go?” was the first question she thought to ask, more to see whether she’d actually  _ have _ to run or not.

“No,” was the simple answer given to her, the vampire’s dark eyes not leaving her - that odd pink ring around her pupils had returned, and with it apparently came a small, contemplative frown. Info wasn’t sure whether she liked the almost hungry look in those black pools. “Too risky. You’re a human that witnessed a vampire’s feeding, and a reporter nonetheless. My family cannot risk discovery. We’ve been in these woods for centuries, since long before even the house was built - too long to just get up and move, which means we would all be slaughtered if a human mob visited. I’m sure you understand.”

Info supposed that  _ did _ make sense. As much as she wanted to return to her own town, she could understand why the vampire wasn’t planning on letting her go - but that explanation didn’t answer the much more pressing question that it raised at the same time. “Does that mean you’re planning to kill me, then? And if so, why haven’t you yet?” Internally, she begged herself to ask a more informative question that didn’t only affect her, but ensuring her own survival was probably more important.

_ “I _ am not planning to kill you. In fact, I should be able to protect you. My mother is returning home from America soon, and  _ she _ may wish harm upon you - I will have to speak on your behalf. As for  _ why _ I haven’t killed you yet… I’m not entirely sure why, but I don’t think I would be able to bear it.” Ayano cleared her throat before rising slowly to her feet, and Info scrambled to match her movements - behind her typewriter, she was an eloquent, intelligent, and professional person, but now that she was face to face with a mysterious killer she was understandably less graceful.

Long, pale fingers tipped by sharp nails traced down her cheek, and the reporter shuttered, barely resisting the urge to recoil away. The vampire held onto her chin with a firm yet oddly gentle grip and tilted her head slightly - Info was a good few inches shorter, which really only added to the intimidation radiating from the supernatural creature. The moment was strange, and one in which Info was acutely aware of the exposed stretch of neck where her pulse was probably racing; strangely enough, however, Ayano barely seemed to glance at anything below her lips.

The intense gaze given to her lips, actually, was flustering. She wasn’t sure what was coming over her, but she wanted Ayano to kiss her - the realization frustrated the hell out of her, though.

Info was just tensing to pull away (for better or for worse) when the sound of a heavy door distantly closing distracted Ayano from studying her so closely and strangely. The vampire’s lips tugged downwards into an annoyed frown as she took her hands off her captive, wiping them off on the black silky fabric of her long dress. “That would be my mother,” she commented with just the slightest amount of disgust behind her tone, and when she looked back the reporter noticed that the pink ring in her eyes seemed to have grown stronger and brighter. “I will be back in the morning to bring your breakfast, but I’m afraid that our time together for now has been cut short.”

Before Info even had the chance to open her mouth and respond, maybe ask what the hell  _ that _ had been about, but before she could the vampire had turned on her heel and fled the room.

It took her several moments to realize that Ayano had forgotten to lock it again, and once that information had settled into her head it took her another few seconds to come up with a plan for which direction to run in before she was out like a shot, jerking the thin door open before sprinting as fast as she humanly could down the hallway, the opposite direction from the one she’d been carried, red eyes scanning the floor ahead of her in search of an exit, any way out that would be easier than traversing the long mazes that made up the hallways and the expansive stretches of staircases gaping at her as if to laugh at her hopeless attempt to escape.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryoba is a stone cold bitch that nobody likes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED THAT THE PROJECTED LENGTH FOR THIS FIC WAS CUT IN HALF. this was because i, the author, was having serious trouble trying to get my plan for the plot to flow well. i hope you're not upset with me lmao

Ayano’s mother was a curvy woman with a face that gave off a false smile and a feigned maternal quality. She had dark eyes and a pale complexion, both of which she’d passed on to her daughter, and her long curtain of black hair was frequently tucked back into a ponytail. Although she appeared rather bubbly and eager to please on the exterior, internally she was a cold, calculating, bloodthirsty monster who once looked her own two year old daughter dead in the eyes and told her that she would be given to the humans to be burned at the stake if she ever got in the way of her mother and father spending time together again. That being said toddler’s earliest memory eighteen years later.

It went without saying that Ryoba Aishi was not, generally, a very likable person. Her husband was afraid of her, her daughter was bitter towards her, and most of the rest of her family was dead. Ayano didn’t normally make her distaste for the woman that gave birth to her clear - usually, she feigned affection and pretended that she appreciated the effort put towards raising her. It was a game that they mutually played; the younger woman could tell that her mother didn’t exactly like her, either. Maybe there was some sort of pride, as she liked to think she was turning out to be a worth heiress, but there was none of the warmth and adoration that was supposed to come with a mother-daughter relationship.

“Hello, Mother,” Ayano greeted the elder vampire, giving her what she hoped looked like a genuine smile. Said mother responded by wrapping her arms around her daughter, and Ayano tensed as soon as she was embraced, and didn’t even unravel when the contact was broken. Her smile became a little more forced, and she barely resisted the urge to brush the new wrinkles and creases off of her formal clothing.  _ That _ would be rude - or be observed as rude.

“How have you been the last few weeks?” Ryoba asked with a feigned cheerful tone that made Ayano wish she could gag without causing drama. Although she constantly was searching for ways to make her mother proud, subconsciously wanting to find some hint of affection, she was convinced that Ryoba was beneath her and she didn’t care about what she thought and didn’t want any sort of touching to be happening. She hated her.

“Oh, fine. Your father was a little late leaving, I’m afraid, so he may not be back until this evening.” There was more genuine emotion in her mother’s voice saying that than when she was greeting her only daughter, and for that Ayano was bitter. Ryoba paused, taking a whiff of the air of the large house before glancing at her daughter with a raised eyebrow - that alone made the younger vampire nervous. “I smell human, Ayano. Have you been risking exposure again? I know that keeping them live in the castle is more fun and satisfying, but honestly, we can’t afford the consequences if you were to be killed.”

Ayano didn’t hold back in rolling her eyes - yes, there was a lot of things that could go wrong if Ryoba reacted badly to Info’s presence, but for the moment she seemed more disappointed in her than angry. “There is a human in the house, but she is contained and I don’t intend to let her go anytime soon,” she spoke calmly, and could almost feel her expression somehow becoming blanker. “Which reminds me, I have a question. Is it possible to get the… ‘pink vision’ and have it be a mistake?”

Ryoba froze in the process of hanging up her heavy fur coat, dark eyes glancing over at her daughter and a frown pushing at the corners of her lips. “That’s never happened in our family history,” she responded coolly. “The ‘pink vision’ happens when it happens, though it is often accompanied by a surge of emotion and a warm feeling of love that can get quite addictive. Why? Are you afraid that your affection for the Yamada boy may be a mistake? Because if he’s been married, it would not be difficult to destroy his wife and any potential witnesses in just a few weeks.”

That might be a problem, considering he was already dead. Ayano wasn’t sure if she was more frustrated with herself for killing him in a fit of rage or for telling her mother about him in the first place. “No, there’s no problem,” she lied, forcing a smile that was directed toward her mother. This entire situation was very, frustratingly difficult, and she wished that Ryoba had stayed overseas for a while longer. “I was just thinking of a hypothetical situation. I’d like to know as much about our kind as possible,” the lie continued with very little thought, though it was most likely believable; all she had really been taught about her own biology was that she needed blood often and was not human.

Her mother’s cautious expression faded somewhat at that, replaced by one that was a bit more impatient and annoyed but was significantly less dangerous to the wellbeing of both Ayano and Info. “That makes sense, I suppose,” the elder vampire responded, the aloof and uncaring tone of her voice returning rather easily. “But it doesn’t answer the question of why I smell human in the house. If you’re keeping captives, I at least hope it’s the Yamada boy.”

“No, it’s -,” she began to reply quickly, but before she could really explain she noticed her mother’s expression change somewhat. Her slow blood ran cold, and quietly, quickly, she examined the situation and the look on Ryoba’s face. She seemed to become a bit more alert, and even enraged, staring at something just behind Ayano. That alone was enough to make her nervous, and it was only when her mother began moving forward that she turned on her heels and met the red gaze of a very startled, very nervous Info.

Ryoba darted forward immediately, and Ayano had to think fast, quickly rushing at the human. She was there in a mere blink, and she was well aware that it was only the fact that she was far younger than her mother that allowed her to make it to Info before the elder vampire. Ayano positioned herself in a protective stance in front of the reporter, glaring at her mother as she stood before her. She was only vaguely aware of Info gripping onto her arm, hands shaking slightly - most of her focus was based on observing the situation and making sure that her mother caused no harm.

“Ayano,” Ryoba spoke slowly, dangerously, her dark eyes settled into a cold gaze as she regarded her daughter with an almost condescending tone. “I have discussed with you the dangers of keeping a human that is not to become a part of the Aishi family in the house. I know this is not the one who you intend to marry, so there is no reason for her to be here.” The elder vampire breathed in through her nose and sighed heavily out her mouth, pinching the bridge of her nose between her pointer finger and her thumb. Normally, Ayano would be irritated that she was spoken to as if she were just a child, but right now she was just concerned with whether or not her red eyed human was going to be killed.

“I’m going to turn her,” the young vampire responded in a tone that surprised even her with its calmness. A thick layer of apathy was finding itself placed back on her thoughts - she knew that she was being reasonable, and her mother wouldn’t kill if she knew the truth and had good reason not to. “I’ve experienced pink vision for this human, Mother. I’m trying to investigate why I could get it for two separate individuals, and Taro Yamada is dead, so I intend to marry her.” She could almost feel the dismay radiating off of the reporter, but she ignored it for the moment.

The elder vampire seemed to soften somewhat at that, glancing at Info once more with a far less murderous and far more interested gaze. A small frown poked at the corners of her lips, and she took a moment before responding to her daughter. “I suppose I will allow her to live here for a while, then. But I wish you had allowed that Yamada boy to survive. It’s going to be awfully difficult to continue the bloodline if you marry another woman.”

Ayano didn’t relax until her mother stepped away and began to exit the foyer, and even then she continued to watch as the elder vampire walked opened the door leading to the kitchen. “I sincerely hope you know what you’re doing,” Ryoba said simply in a tone that didn’t even feign cheerfulness for once, and once the heavy wooden door closed, the vampire turned quickly to glare at her ward.

Info flinched at the look in her eyes, and for just a moment Ayano wanted to soften, but she didn’t. “That was  _ incredibly _ stupid and reckless,” she snapped in a voice that she knew was probably more harsh than the situation called for. “You’re lucky that she was in a good mood. I can’t promise that I can protect you if she catches you again. I told you to stay in your room, and I trusted that you would, but now I see that was a mistake.” She took a deep breath to force herself to calm down, fists clenched at her sides. “I’m going to increase the limitations placed on you. I’m going to start barricading your door and putting bars on your windows. If you find a way out, I will not protect you.”

“What do you mean you intend to marry me?” the human demanded before responding to the threats of being locked up further - Ayano chose to believe that meant she would have safety before she had freedom. “You can’t just  _ do _ that. Steal somebody off the streets and marry them. Not even if they give you… ‘pink vision,’ whatever the  _ fuck _ that is.”

“I didn’t say we’re getting married right away. I intend to figure out why you’re giving me pink vision first, and I will not marry you without your consent.” The vampire huffed in an annoyed tone, scooping up the human into her arms and carrying her back up the long flight of stairs. “‘Pink vision’ is a phenomena in my particular species of vampire that causes a pink ring around the iris when someone for whom you will feel deeply is nearby. I was always taught that the one you have pink vision for is your soulmate, but now that I have had it for two humans I’m not as sure.”

Info was silent for a while, her mouth opening and closing as if she was struggling to find the right words to speak with - and Ayano could only assume that she  _ was _ struggling to figure out how to respond. That was heavy news for somebody who wasn’t raised on it, she supposed. “You can’t keep me here forever,” she spoke after a moment, in a voice that was small but still managed to be calm. “I’m the most important reporter the city has ever had. I’m a human with rights and kidnapping me and keeping me captive is illegal, not to mention barbaric.”

“Your human laws don’t apply to us,” Ayano replied simply as she quickened her pace, sprinting the rest of the way upstairs. She reached the door to Info’s room rather quickly, opening it and unceremoniously shoving the human inside. “I don’t care what you think of it, I have to keep you here forever in order to protect myself and my family. As I told you before, you witnessed my feeding. Even if I wasn’t getting pink vision around you, I would have had to kill you. You should consider yourself lucky that this is your fate.”

With that, she closed the door, cutting off whatever response Info was about to give her. Ayano quickly turned on her heel and began walking down the hall again, intending to have a calmer conversation with her mother and trying to ignore the fluttering beat of her heart.

**Author's Note:**

> if you're enjoying, please leave a kudos and a comment, it really motivates me!


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